thesis: the tools

the tools that i used for developing my thesis

asian stereotypes exploited

immigrants come to Canada with high hopes and expectations, but many of them leave after failing to adapt to Canadian society. many visible minority immigrants and their descendants experience direct and indirect discrimination in day-to-day social interactions.

my thesis project looks at two particular challenges that East Asian immigrants and their descendants face when they try to integrate into the workforce in Western society.

user & stakeholder mapping

a complete journey map of the job seeking process for new immigrant with multiple stakeholders in Canada

user & stakeholder painpoints identified

a video clip created as a mock TED talk to discuss the immigration status of Canada in year 2036

future speculation

ripple effect study of 3 potential design solutions

the future cone with its concept of ‘P’ futures (Possible, Plausible, Probable, and Preferred).

the future cone with its concept of ‘P’ futures (Possible, Plausible, Probable, and Preferred).

the future cone with its concept of ‘P’ futures (Possible, Plausible, Probable, and Preferred).

design opportunities

with the discovery of the 'immigrant pyramid', preference of ethnic names, origins and stereotypes become important departure points

descriptive stereotype: ethnic names

a study conducted by two University of Toronto professors entitiled
“Why do some employers prefer to interview Matthew,
but not Samir?”1 found that, after sending out resumes
to potential employers from major cities in Canada,
candidates with ethnic names were on average 40%
less likely to receive an interview than those with English sounding
names.

prescriptive stereotype: model minority

research has shown that East Asians experience more
racial harassment at work than other ethnicities
despite the portrayal of East Asians as a “model
minority."2 stereotypes are found to be the most common form
of racial harassment in professional settings.

an individual who violates a descriptive stereotype of his/her ethnic group may attract curiosity, whereas an individual who violates a prescriptive stereotype of his/her group is likely to experience “social disapproval and backlash.”3

progress show

first reveal

the preliminary designs of the thesis were presented as part of the OFF COURSE exhibition at 2017 Toronto Offsite Design Festival

the exhibition was also used to gain feedback from potential users and stakeholders, two questionnaires were provided for comments and critiques

system thinking

the organization operates a web based B2C venture, in addition to being a social enterprise

in order to function as a social enterprise, the organization must include two parts: the profiting part of the business driving the do-good part. the ecosystem of now you see me functions in the following way: